The Souper Series: Homemade Vegetable Broth

There has been a lot of talk about ‘bone broth’ as of late, and the healing gut powers it claims to provide. Essentially it’s just a fancy name for beef (or chicken) stock, but people claim that the broken down animal bones contain essential vitamins and minerals which can alleviate joint and gut pain, brighten skin and hair and boost the immune system. Think what you want, but my personal opinion is that ‘bone broth’ is simply a money making scheme and that there are much more nutritious and delicious ways to aid digestion and improve gut health without consuming animal products.

In saying this, I became curious and waned to see if I could make a vegan version that was just as (if not more) nutritious and flavourful. Some stars of my vegan ‘bone broth’ include dried shiitake mushrooms which provide a probiotic and contain a full essential amino acid profile, coconut oil as a source of healthy fat, the anti-inflammatory powers of turmeric and of course garlic, chilli and ginger which are the essential cold and flu fighters (particularly now that we’re heading into winter)! There’s also the vitamins, minerals and protein from leafy greens and B12 from the nutritional yeast, which is an essential part of every vegan’s diet. (If it’s not, you need to do some research!)

This broth is not just designed to be drunk on its own but can also be added to soups and various dishes which require vegetable stock. It can be stored in a glass jar in the fridge for approximately 2 weeks.

Note: Don’t be worried if the broth forms a hard layer when in the fridge. This is the coconut oil solidifying.

Ingredients:

1tbsp coconut oil

1 medium onion, with skin

1 garlic clove

1 carrot

5 celery sticks

1 medium sized chilli

1 knob fresh ginger

1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms

1tsp peppercorns

1tsp turmeric powder

4tbsp soy sauce/ coconut aminos

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 bunch fresh herbs (coriander or parsley works best)

3-4 cups of a combination of vegetable peelings (e.g. onion skin, ends of carrots or celery, grated carrot skin, tops of capsicum etc.) and mixed greens such as kale or spinach.

12 cups water

Method:

Begin by roughly chopping any vegetables that may be too large whole (carrots, onion, celery) and slicing up the garlic, ginger and chilli. Don’t chop anything too finely as the liquid will be strained later.

In a large pot, melt the coconut oil and add the garlic, ginger and chilli, frying for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.

Add the 12 cups of water to the pot and all of the remaining vegetables and flavourings.

Simmer on a low to medium heat for a minimum of 1 hour. The longer the better. 2-3 is best!

Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before straining and storing in a glass jar in the fridge.